I’m cheating again, because I’m posting another story I’ve actually already read thanks to our mutual editor, but I couldn’t resist because it is awesome! Also, Kristen is pretty awesome herself (and I can’t wait to meet her in September! Don’t be jealous. :P) I’ll be buying a few copies to give away when it comes out so make sure to come back here on Valentine’s Day 2012 to find details on that.

I love dystopians (obviously), but this was the only one that got my blood boiling a mere 5 pages into the MS. I was at my daughter’s pediatrician raving to the doctor about how AWFUL the government in this society is, which sparked a 20-minute conversation about the possibility of it happening to us in real life. I did not like thinking of that possibility, but that’s the point of books, to make it easier to talk about an uncomfortable subject.

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC have been abandoned. The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes. There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials and maybe worse. People who get arrested don’t usually come back. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different. In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs—like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes—and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.